Clothes spinner



Patented June 4, 1935 Richard B.

Springfield, Mass.

Electric a Manufacturing a corporation of Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, Pa...

Company. But

Application February 21, 1934, Serial No. 712.350 .5 Claims. (01. 210-72) Our invention relates to centrifuge or spin-type clothes driers and 'it has particular relation to means forsafeguarding the operator of drying equipment of this type.

A spin-type dried typically comprises a perforated clothes receiving container. which is arranged to rotated, as by a suitable driving This rotation sets up centrifugal forces which,.acting upon the drops of moisture in the clothes, throw them outwardly through the perforations. In a conventional arrangement which has proved especially successful for domestic application, the perforated container is vertically mounted inside of an outer shell or casing through an opening in the top of which the clothes are introduced into and removed from the container. Control of the container rotation may be eifected by manipulation of .the usual motor. control switch.

Inasmuch as serious injury may result if the operator inadvertently contacts the container while it is rotating at its relatively high operating speed, there is'a distinct need for safeguarding means for driers of the above-described and other equivalent types. It is to the provision of such means that our invention is directed.

Generally stated, the object of our invention is to provide means-whereby access to the interior of the spin drier can be had only when the container is at rest.

A more specific object of our invention is to provide means whereby the driving motor can be energized to rotate the container only when the opening in the outer casing is closed as by a I suitable lid or cover;

Another object of our invention is to provide means whereby a movement of the cover from the latched to the released position deenergizes the motor and causes the rotating container to rapidly come to a stop.

A further object of our invention is to provide means whereby removal-of the cover can be effected only after the speed of the spinner has dropped to an exceedingly low and completely non-dangerous value.

Our invention itself, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood through the following description of a specific embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view, in sectional elevation, of a spin type drier to which the safety expedients of our'invention are shown as being applied;

' nection 20 in the bottom features.

' Referring to the drawing, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, the spin type drier there illustrated comprises a clothes receiving container ll mounted inside of an outer shell I! and arranged to be driven through a vertical supporting shaft II by means of an electric motor It. The container i0 is provided with perforations It in the sides thereof, through which per-' forations the moisture contained in articles of clothing placed therein is expelled under the influence of centrifugal force induced by rotation of the container; This expelled water escapes from the outer casing I! through a drain conthereof.

In the particular driving connection illustrated, the motor l6 carries on its shaft 22 a small pulley 23, over which a belt 24 runs to drive, at a considerably reduced speed, a larger pulley 25 carried by the vertical shaftv H, to the upper end of which the perforated container is fixed.

In order that the rotating assemblage may be allowed freedom of movement to take care of the oscillations which'are present, particularly as it passes through the so-called critical speed, this assemblage, together with its driving mechanism,' is supported from a stationary plate member 28, by means of resilient coil springs 29 and 30. This plate member is supported from the structure of the outer casing l2 and one end of each of the named springs is secured to, it. The other end of spring 29 terminates in a fixture attached to the motor mounting plate, while the other end of spring 30 similarly is fixed to a bearing member 34. As is more'clearly shown in Fig. 3, there may be incorporated in the member 34 a ball bearing which allows free rotation of a cooperating member 36 which is fixed to the lower portion of the spinner I ii.

In the top of the outer casing member I2 is a centrally positioned opening through which the clothes or articles to be dried are-introduced into the perforated container "I. As before point- V by a pair of brake the springs I4 trolled by the movement of safety device actuatto be especially satisfactory.

is found of flexible mechanical control connection In the operation of spin type driers. of the type under consideration, it is found that due to the stored energyinv the rapidly rotating perforated container and its charge of clothing a consid erable time is required before the container comes to rest after interruption of the driving motor circuit. To quicken the deceleration after circuit interruption, we provide braking means shown in the drawing in the form of a drum member 18 fixed to the lower end of the container shaft M, which drum member is encircled bands 18 normally biased to thecontacting or braking position by means of and 15. These bands. areconing lever 12 in such manner that the movements effected by rotating the spinner cover 38 to the latched position releases the brake and thereby allows the perforated container to freely rotate.

However, when the spinner cover is rotated back to the removable or unlatched position, in which,

as has 58 is biased to the open position, the brake is automatically applied and functions to rapidly bring the rotating container to a'standstill.

As supplemental to the safety devices just described, which in themselves are of great advantage, wefurther provide means which make it impossible for the operator to remove the spinner cover before the perforated container has been slowed down to a completely non-dangerous speed. One preferred form of such means comprises a pair of magnet-type locking devices 80 .which are controlled by means of a centrifugal 1 switch 82 which is responsive to the container speedr Each of these locking devices comprises a pin member 8| which, when moved inwardly by the attraction of an armature member 83 to an electromagnet 84, fits into a slot 86 in the downwardly projecting rim of the cover 38, and

thereby makes it impossible to lift the cover from the spinner even though the cover is rotated to the unlatched position. The length of these slots 86 is suchjthat the desired latching and unlatching rotational movements of the cover are in no way interfered with.

In the arrangement shown, the centrifugal switch is mounted on an extension of the driving motor shaft 22 and functions, as is diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 5, to effect the closure of a pair of contact members 88 when the motor speed rises above a predetermined value. As long as the speed remains below this value, a spring 99 biases these contact members to the open position, and thereby allows the compression springs 9| of the magnetic latches to withdraw the pins 8! from the operating notches in the cover rim.

Closure of the centrifugal switch contact members 88 is arranged to take place as soon as the perforated container speed has attained an appreciable value, say, of the order of 100 revolutions per minute. This closure completes an energizing circuit for the magnets 84 which may be traced from the upper supply conductor 56 through the switch contact members 88, conductor 93, the two magnet windings 84, and conductor 94, back to the lower power source conductor 56. Thus energized the magnets draw the two looking pins 8| into the cover slots and effectively prevent its removal until such time as the speed below the dangerous value named.

. l4. This'esp'ecially in been before pointed out, the safety switch trifugal switch 82 on the higher speed motor shaft, a much more sensitive control can be ob- .tained than would be possible by mounting the switch directly upon the rotating container shaft view of the fact that the majority of centrifugal switches now commercially available require relatively hfgh speeds for their operation.

In the particular plied with its v own individual speed-increasing drive to attain the higher sensitivity mentioned. that, through the provision operator to make contact with the rotatable perforated clothes container while the same is rotataccordanee with the latching and unlatching of the spinner cover and thereby have eliminated the necessity for the operator to actuate one or the other of the two externally positioned motor control switches except at the beginning and at drier comprising a will effect a release thereof, and means actuated by said cover turning movements for making effective said driving means only when the cover is turned to the latched position.

2. In a spin-type clothes drier comprising a container, driving means for rotating said container, and an outer casing having a circular opening through which access to the container may be gained, the combination of a removable circular cover for said opening, means whereby a turning of the cover, when in place over. the opening, in one direction will eifect a latching thereof and a turning in the reverse direction will effect a release thereof, braking means for rapidly stopping said container, and meansactuated by said cover turning movements for makapplication .under present consideration, in which itmay be assumed that w the speed reduction perforated container shaft. is of the order of 10 to 1, the sw'tch 82 when, sensitive to speeds ing effective said braking means only when the cover is turned to the released position.

3. In a spin-type clothes drier comprising a container, driving means for rotating said containe and an outer casing having a circular opening through which access to the container may be gained, the combination of a removable circular cover for said opening, means whereby a turning of the cover, when in place over the opening, in one direction will efiect a latching thereof and a turning in the reverse direction will effect a release thereof, means for preventing a removal of said cover,- and means responsive to the speed of rotation of said container for rendering effective said removal preventing means as long as said speed is maintained above a given value.

4. In a spin-type clothes drier comprising a container, driving means for rotating said container, an outer casing having a circular opening through which access to the container may be gained, and means for flexibly supporting said container and its driving means in said outer casing to permit of a. change of position therebetween, the combination of a removable circular cover for said opening, means whereby a turning I oi the cover effects a latching and unlatching thereof, safety devices mounted upon said container driving assemblage, and means for transmitting the latching and unlatching movement of said cover to said safety devices to efiect actuation thereof.

5. In a spin-type clothes drier comprising a container, driving means for rotating said container, an outer casing having a circular opening through which access to the container may be gained, and means for flexibly supporting said container and its driving means in said outer casing to permit of a change of position therebetween, the combination of a removable circular cover for said opening, means whereby a turning of the cover effects a latching and unlatching thereof, safety devices mounted upon said container driving assemblage, and means for transmitting the latching and unlatching movement of said cover to said safety devices to effect actuation thereof, said transmitting means comprising a flexible wire whichis moved through a laterally unyielding surrounding sheath secured at its respective ends to the stationary casing and to the container driving assemblage.

R. H. JORDAN. PAUL E. HOCHS'IT'I'I'ER.

June 4, 1935. K. KAISSER V ELECTROLYTIC TREATMENT OF LIQUIDS Filed March 22, 19s: 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .71: 120:: fax. 

